• Our new ticketing site is now live! Using either this or the original site (both powered by TrainSplit) helps support the running of the forum with every ticket purchase! Find out more and ask any questions/give us feedback in this thread!

Christmas period services - Medway

Status
Not open for further replies.

eastwestdivide

Established Member
Joined
17 Aug 2009
Messages
3,398
Location
S Yorks, usually
Bit of a long shot, but does anyone have info on likely levels of bus services in the Medway Towns over the Christmas period? A web search reveals nothing, even about previous years. Obviously you’d expect nothing on 25th, but as this falls on a Friday in 2026, Boxing Day is the Monday. What might happen on 26-27? And presumably an early finish on 24th?? Thanks in advance
(I’ve contacted Arriva, but no reply yet)
 
Sponsor Post - registered members do not see these adverts; click here to register, or click here to log in
R

RailUK Forums

Man of Kent

Member
Joined
5 Jul 2018
Messages
904
Bit of a long shot, but does anyone have info on likely levels of bus services in the Medway Towns over the Christmas period? A web search reveals nothing, even about previous years. Obviously you’d expect nothing on 25th, but as this falls on a Friday in 2026, Boxing Day is the Monday. What might happen on 26-27? And presumably an early finish on 24th?? Thanks in advance
(I’ve contacted Arriva, but no reply yet)
I doubt Arriva will have planned what they intend to provide as yet.

However, the last time 26 December was a Saturday was 2020. Arriva ran a special timetable on routes 2, 101, 166 and 700. Sunday services applied on 27th, 28th and 1st; Saturday services on 29th-31st. There were early finishes on both Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve.

If I recall correctly, KCC contracted route 151 runs a Sunday service on Boxing Day - I'm sure it was the only bus running in mid Kent last year.
 

Roger1973

Member
Joined
5 Jul 2020
Messages
854
Location
Berkshire
I doubt Arriva will have planned what they intend to provide as yet.

However, the last time 26 December was a Saturday was 2020. Arriva ran a special timetable on routes 2, 101, 166 and 700. Sunday services applied on 27th, 28th and 1st; Saturday services on 29th-31st. There were early finishes on both Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve.

If I recall correctly, KCC contracted route 151 runs a Sunday service on Boxing Day - I'm sure it was the only bus running in mid Kent last year.

I've no connection with Arriva, Kent County Council or Medway Council so can't give any sort of official answer, but I'd say something along those lines is the most likely.

But don't expect the definite information to be out until some time in December - legally, operators only have to give the Traffic Commissioners / local authorities 3 weeks' notice of special arrangements for weeks involving bank holidays - although most have been persuaded to do it earlier so that Traveline and all the other websites / apps have the information in plenty of time. I'm still usually chasing operators for information (in my local authority role) in to the first week of December.

Most bus operators (and their staff) would see 26 December as Boxing Day, whatever day of the week it falls on, and their locally agreed special conditions would apply to 26 December, not the bank holiday in lieu. (It varies by operator whether those arrangements are no services, limited services and premium pay rates or whatever. TFL is probably an outlier in having a full Sunday service, although some London operators apply special duty conditions, and there's complications round the absence of night buses / 24 hour route 'night journeys' at start of service.)

And fairly sure the railways largely close on 25 and 26 December whatever days of the week they fall on.

Broadly, the above is what happened at bus operator I worked for in 2020 - we ran our version of limited / special service on Saturday 26 December, then Sunday service Sunday 27th and bank holiday Monday 28th. And (it's longer ago) but think we did similar (at a different bus operator) when Christmas Day was a Saturday and 26 December was a Sunday followed by two bank holidays, where Sunday 26th was special / limited service, not standard Sunday service.

In 2020, I seem to remember that there was a discussion with one of the local transport authorities, who tried to argue that we should run a full Saturday service on tendered routes on 26 December as it was a Saturday not a bank holiday. I wasn't personally involved in telling them not to be so silly (I think it would have involved running an evening service on a route or two that wasn't going to operate in the daytime) but we ended up running our planned special schedule.

And an increasing number of operators are stretching the 'Saturday service' days to more than just the (non bank holiday) weekdays between Christmas and New Year - it would not be a big surprise if some operators do Saturday service from Monday 21 to Thursday 24 December (with early finish on 24th) this year.
 

Mark L

Member
Joined
12 Dec 2023
Messages
316
Location
West London
Bit of a long shot, but does anyone have info on likely levels of bus services in the Medway Towns over the Christmas period? A web search reveals nothing, even about previous years. Obviously you’d expect nothing on 25th, but as this falls on a Friday in 2026, Boxing Day is the Monday. What might happen on 26-27? And presumably an early finish on 24th?? Thanks in advance
(I’ve contacted Arriva, but no reply yet)
Last year Kent Country ran a special service on route 477 on Boxing Day. There was also a limited service on Fastrack on Christmas Day and buses on Boxing Day.
 

SeveerYeliab

Member
Joined
21 Dec 2018
Messages
121
If I recall correctly the only Boxing Day service that Arriva ran in the entire of Kent this year was the 6X?
 

londonteacher

Member
Joined
10 Aug 2018
Messages
800
Location
Chatham
If I recall correctly the only Boxing Day service that Arriva ran in the entire of Kent this year was the 6X?
That is correct. If there was any service in Medway it would have been the 151. Arriva do not operate in Medway on Christmas Day.IMG_0823.jpeg
This is an image of the bus service run by Arriva in Medway. I’m not sure on my phone how to do the alternative text.
 

londonteacher

Member
Joined
10 Aug 2018
Messages
800
Location
Chatham
For Arriva it will not make a difference, they don’t run anything unless they really have to in Medway. Some routes they operate have no services from the middle of December to early January.

Although the Bank Holiday is not until the Monday, I would happily bet that Arriva does not operate a single bus in Medway on Boxing Day

Hopefully the 151 is of use to you as I am certain it was the only bus service in Medway. Some operators didn’t operate at all until the New Year!
 

duncombec

Member
Joined
3 Sep 2014
Messages
1,149
Thanks. The difference this year is Boxing Day not being the 26th
In theory, yes. However, as per the reply in post #4, most people (and bus operators) will still consider 26th as "Boxing Day" and 28th as the "bank holiday in lieu".

For Arriva it will not make a difference, they don’t run anything unless they really have to in Medway. Some routes they operate have no services from the middle of December to early January.

Although the Bank Holiday is not until the Monday, I would happily bet that Arriva does not operate a single bus in Medway on Boxing Day

Hopefully the 151 is of use to you as I am certain it was the only bus service in Medway. Some operators didn’t operate at all until the New Year!

Can you give examples of which "operators" didn't operate at all between Christmas and the New Year? By and large it was a Saturday service, so whilst there were some Medway Council-contracted services that would usually operate Mondays to Fridays only that didn't operate, I'm not aware of any operators which didn't.


In any case, as the OP replied in #8 that the Arriva have themselves not made any decision, further discussion is largely moot until November!
 

Statto

Established Member
Joined
8 Feb 2011
Messages
4,064
Location
At home or at the pub
It's June, & the Festive season is still 6 months away, we won't know any Festive season service levels until November at the earliest, & early December at the latest.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Top